Seib & Wessel: A Tricky Decision on Syria

8/30/2013 11:20AM

President Obama feels compelled to send Syria's President Assad a message over his alleged use of chemical weapons, says WSJ's Adam Entous. But any military action risks sucking the U.S. deeper into the country's civil war -- an outcome Washington wants to avoid.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... let's see what being president is hard because for two years prop them up has been resisting getting involved in Syria ... trying really hard to get sucked into the sofa were there ... this week he turns to the point where look like he wanted to get our had to get involved to respond to chemical weapons attacks most of them were discovered ... there's a second cited that are good people sign will not so fast in ... the Arab allies to enter the U S to be part of this enterprise nothing more to support American bombing campaign ... against ... against Bashir Assad ... aam Italy's the present situation which we all knew we get to eventually which is ... decisions are tough when you decide to take military action great and certainly the private messages from senior officials is very different well the questions that the delivery ... if anything the Saudis in the UAE in cutter ... are encouraging him to really pull the trigger to do a much larger operation I think ... we're going to see ... what it does happen which is going to be looking ... at really sending a message ... to a side that ... you know what he did in June which was small it uses chemical weapons he can get a pass for ... but the cumulative continued use of it eventually was going to bring United States and that's where maybe a sudden stock ... and that's it that's the message has decided ... to teach her ... not to change the costs of course course more and make a statement about something I think this president feels very strongly about witches ... weapons of mass destruction and by the way to send the same message to people I Co North Korea in and around Nokia has weapons of mass ... is a temptation who will want to ... own the place let's take out a few of his aircraft and degrade their forces as well as her ... credit I think rate now that that is the ... only question that's left ... so do you intend to take out his helicopters educate you try to take out his aircraft ... he's not using those to deliver chemical weapons he's using rockets ... the other issue here is that you take out the unit that the special unit is delivering chemical weapons continued ... you want them to maintain control of the scam but it's what you do that their looks is if you have taken military steps designed to militarily assist the opposition to win the war and what you do that ... I think the president's fear along has been once we do things like that ... then it becomes our war and we are engaged on one side actively and then were expected as the superpower to own the warrants prevail and then you're sucked in and that's that's the argument ... I would think from the White House party view ... against trying to degrade and simply to match the masses to it or ... break is no question that ... sending the message carrying is the main objective here ... the question is is that wet weather when the president is going to decide to do a little bit more ... on that a great side but but like you said that when they do not want to be balanced with this operation they do not want to own it ... that said ... you know once you start down this road ... and if the sun decides to retaliate the gains for example Jordan ... then all bets are off and the bombs really have to go what to do they have to have an exit strategy is Coca leaves them an increased Benjamin did they have to know how to get out of this ... and that eighty percent for trucking ... One mean a single word indices they you know he he this is a complicated situation we it's not like Libya where the US had drones overhead ... to do kind of real-time damage assessments ... so what you can have here is the note that the rockets Akindo and they can cause damage ... but you know the first ... damage reports if I can be up on YouTube from people with their cellphones ... none is can it take ... probably twenty four hours for Defense Department ... you know maybe not twenty four hours maybe about twelve hours for them to do out ... of a real analysis of whether there was ... no way to rocket went straight in building or or or something along those lines and whether or not buildings that they wanted to just two in which to it the thing is that you don't control ... everything once you do this to be the question of what comes next is not a unilateral decision with a syringe to do they try to try to make a last resort and they try to join in the xray this one is Hezbollah in Lebanon today retaliate by watching a bunch of rockets into Israel where the Russians to know when the rain Aeon's digit the rain Aeon's ... call off nuclear talks because their Syrian allies in the U S ... one other things I think the White House also passed me worry about is that once you gauge ... you lose control and that you have to fight off other people's agendas not just your ... brain ... that of other people's attention so what do you make of all this talk and converse all we want to say ... this is just posturing I'm I'm I'm curious what you guys think I'm a little ... puzzled by that I don't offices ... the statement of process what this we don't want the president of too much power hear any president ... to win this one may be ... or whether this is a statement of reluctance to give up what is it that's motivating people this a slowdown we think Congress should have a force in this isn't because they think vision for some printable or that they want the forests of the one that says not ... why think this is an overhang from Libya where where you know Obama was criticized for jumping in without ... a ... full a full accounting to congrats and so I think that's part of it ... um you know I think that that there's been a lot of hurt feelings on the hill ... the cheekily on you know with a Corker and members of the of the Foreign Relations Committee and International Relations Committee because ... Obama chose to go takeover route ... with assisting the rebels earlier this year ... and that cut out ... of all large portion of Congress from having any visibility into what's going